


The One Where Ross Finds Out

by manonwrites



Category: Friends (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M, Supportive Ross Geller, why can’t ross just be a nice guy for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 04:29:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19845610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manonwrites/pseuds/manonwrites
Summary: Okay, so maybe Joey and Chandler have been secretly dating for a bit. They’ve been meaning to tell their friends, really, but it never seems to be a good time. And yeah, maybe they’re scared of what Ross would think. It’s a good thing that they no longer have to worry about that, right? Thanks, Phoebe.





	The One Where Ross Finds Out

**Author's Note:**

> i’m SO SO SICK of there being virtually no chandler/joey fics or fanart or anything. y’all need to step up ur game. anyway enjoy tell me what u think :)))

“So?”

“So what?”

Phoebe, Rachel, Monica, and Chandler all stare at Joey from their respective places on the couch. The atmosphere of Central Perk swirls around them, distracting Joey for a moment before he rights himself.

“Oh! Yeah, the audition. I told her I didn’t wanna sleep with her for the part, and as I was leavin’, she chases me and offers me an even bigger part!”

His friends’ faces all light up with excitement. “That’s great!”

“So,” Joey says, spreading his hands wide and grinning. “You’re looking at Doctor Drake Romoray, recurring in at least four episodes!”

Rachel and Monica both cheer, while Phoebe says, “I knew you had it in you!”

But, the only reaction Joey cares about is from Chandler, who’s gone strangely silent. He nudges him, and Chandler jolts.

That’s the thing about dating someone like Chandler; Joey’s learned all the nuts (haha) and bolts of Chandler’s brain. He knows what mannerism means what, what quirk to laugh at and what one to kiss him for, and pretty much everything someone else would learn if they started dating their best friend three months ago.

Right now, Chandler’s furrowed eyebrows mean he’s thinking about something serious, and Joey hates it when Chandler thinks. He prefers it when Chandler’s not thinking at all, and instead squirming around their bed in-

“Did you sleep with her?” Chandler asks in a soft voice. The girls stop celebrating to look at them, eyes wide and confused.

A part of Joey’s heart breaks at Chandler’s expression.

“No, I-God, Chandler, no, of course not,” Joey says, wanting to thread their fingers together. He opts to pat Chandler’s forearm instead. “No, I told her I’m gay.”

Chandler flails so hard he hits his leg on the table in front of them. “You did what?”

“I told her I’m gay,” Joey says, frowning as he looks at Chandler. “It got her off my back, and she offered me the part, so-“

“I’m sorry,” Monica says, leaning over and interrupting the staring contest going on between Joey and Chandler. “You told her you that you’re gay? And she gave you the part instead of rejecting you? What kind of entertainment worker is this, exactly?”

“I don’t know!” Joey says defensively. “She kept sayin’ how proud she was of me and how brave I was to come out or somethin’. The main part I focused on was that I got the part.”

“Well, for the record, I’m very proud of you, Joey,” Rachel says, leaning over to rub his knee. Chandler watches the movement with narrowed eyes. Joey snorts at his boyfriend and smiles at Rachel.

“Thanks, Rach.” Rachel smiles back at him and moves to lounge in her chair near the counters. 

A few moments later, Joey breaks the silence that’s fallen over them. “What if I was? Gay, I mean. Would you guys care?”

Chandler chokes on his coffee.

Phoebe gives him a strange look before aiming a smile towards Joey. “No, of course not!” 

Monica and Rachel echo her words. 

“We would love you no matter what, honey. Even if you were as gay as they come!” Monica says, smiling, and for a moment, Joey wants to spill his guts about dating Chandler. But he doesn’t, because Chandler would kill him.

So, Joey considers her response for a moment. “What if I was datin’ somebody? Like a friend or somethin’? Like, uh, Ross?”

Unsurprisingly, Chandler spits out his coffee onto the table, earning a few concerned looks from onlookers. He grits his teeth and gives a stiff wave, then turns to lean in close to Joey. “Stop giving me heart attacks every time you open your mouth.”

Joey glares at him.

“Well, uh,” Monica says, clearly struggling as she glances around at Rachel and Phoebe. “We would certainly be surprised but supportive. Right, guys?”

The girls all nod and offer their variations of support. Chandler’s response is clearly absent, and Monica notices, so she reaches around Joey to smack Chandler, who’s sitting on the opposite side of the couch. 

“Ow!” Chandler exclaims, rubbing his head. Monica glares at him, and he rolls his eyes. 

“Yeah, fine. If Joey were dating Ross, I would be nothing but supportive.”

Joey scoffs but manages to cover it up by taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Well, you guys have nothin’ to worry about.” He says, putting down the drink. “I’m not gay, and I’m sure as hell not datin’ Ross.”

Technically, both those things are right. Joey isn't gay. The best word to describe him would probably be bisexual, though Joey would say “Chandler-sexual.” 

Also, he's not dating Ross; he’s dating Chandler, and they’re very happy.

He smiles to himself, safe in the knowledge, and takes a sip of his drink.

“No, you’re just dating Chandler,” Phoebe says, and damn, now it’s Joey’s turn to choke on his coffee.

“What?” He manages to get out when the coughing subsided. Even Chandler’s looking pale. Well, pale-er.

“Come on!” Phoebe says, smiling. How she could be smiling when Chandler looks like he wants to keel over and die is beyond Joey, but here they are. Even Monica and Rachel seem shocked. “Every time you say something about your sexuality or dating someone, Chandler freaks out. And, when Rachel touched your leg, Chandler got all pouty! You didn’t think I saw it, but I see everything.”

Once Chandler’s done with his fish-out-of-water impression, Joey looks at him, trying to see if they’re still gonna lie or come clean. Chandler offers him no advice.

“Well, truth is…” Joey tapers off, thinking rapidly. As much as the others poke fun at him for not being that smart, he’s quick on his feet.

What he and Chandler have is special, and maybe it's special because it’s a secret, though it would be nice to hold Chandler’s hand or kiss him while they’re out in public. But, they should probably talk about it first.

Joey opens his mouth and says, “We’re not dating,” at the same time Chandler says, “We’re dating.”

Chandler whirls to face him. “You’re fucking kidding me.”

They face the group again. “We’re dating,” Joey says, just as Chandler says, “We’re not dating.”

Now, Joey turns. “Stop!” He hisses.

They both open their mouths and say, “We’re-“ in unison before Phoebe cuts them off.

“I don’t know, guys, that’s pretty damning evidence.” She sits back in the other chair, grinning. Around them, Rachel and Monica continue to look shocked but seem to agree with her.

“So, is it true? Are you guys dating?” Monica says, a hint of glee in her voice.

Joey looks at Chandler, seeing if he’s about to say anything. He stares back at Joey before sighing and giving in. Chandler buries his face in his hands and says, “Yeah, we’re dating.”

Grinning, Joey reaches to rub his back slowly, and Chandler glances at him to give him a fond smile. The girls coo, causing Joey and Chandler to jump, forgetting that they have an audience. 

“This is great!” Rachel squeals. “Oh my gosh, you two are just adorable.”

“I’m right!” Phoebe keeps saying over and over to no one in particular. “I can’t believe I’m right!”

“Please tell me you guys didn’t do anything at all in my apartment,” Monica says, almost begging. 

Chandler says nothing, and Joey gives her a sheepish look. 

Monica puts a hand over her mouth. “Oh my god. Boy germs in my apartment.”

“Hey, you’ve done stuff in that apartment too!” Joey defends, and Monica glares at him. 

“Yeah, because it’s my goddamn apartment! I live there, and I can do what I want!” 

“If it helps, we didn’t have sex in your apartment, Mon.” Chandler drawls, smirking as he rests a hand on Joey’s thigh and leans into him. “Just made out a bit. Nothing messy.”

Monica groans and falls back into the couch.

The door to the coffee shop opens, and Ross walks in, though it’s unnoticed by his friends. He stands behind Joey and Chandler (who are sitting very close), waiting to butt into their conversation.

“So, are you actually gay?” Rachel asks.

At that moment, Ross makes himself known. “Is who gay?” 

Joey and Chandler immediately separate, Joey knocking into Monica. 

“Nothing! Who? What? How did-where’d you come from?” Chandler flounders, ruining their only chances at playing this cool.

Okay. It’s fine. If Ross heard, then it’s okay. If he isn’t supportive, then that’s fine too. They have the girls. And if he didn't hear, then even better.

It’s not like Joey doesn’t trust Ross, because really, he does. It’s just that given Ross’s history with, uh, gay people, a welcoming coming out doesn’t seem very likely.

Any hope Joey and Chandler have at secretly formulating are thrown out the window as soon as Phoebe opens her mouth and says, “Joey and Chandler are dating!”

When the rest of the group turns to stare at her, she covers her mouth. “Oops. Was I not supposed to say anything?”

Ross’s eyes go wide. “What?”

Joey winces and reaches for Chandler’s hand, who takes it and squeezes. Joey squeezes back, thankful for the silent support.

“Yeah, uh, we,” He gulps and looks right up at Ross, twisting his body. “We’re dating. Chandler an’ me.”

“Oh, wow,” Ross says. Rachel gets up and ushers him to her seat. 

“Look, man, you don’t have to-“ Chandler starts, but Ross cuts him off.

“This is great! It’s a bit surprising, and it’ll take some getting used to, but wow!” 

Joey glances at Chandler, who looks as surprised as he feels. A quick glance around the room shows the girls are just as confused.

“But what about-“

“What, Carol and Susan? I wasn’t upset because they’re lesbians; I was upset because Carol’s my ex-wife! Gosh, you guys, did you really think I wouldn’t be supportive?”

Chandler flails a bit. “Well, yeah!”

“I thought that too, if we're being honest.” Phoebe piped up from across their little space.

Ross looks genuinely hurt. “Of course I would be supportive! You two are my best friends. It’ll definitely be strange at first, but I love you guys! Uh, not like that. You know what I mean.”

“Wait,” Monica says, leaning over Joey a bit. “Are you telling me you’re not homophobic? Like, at all?”

“No?” Ross says, confused. “The lesbian thing was a shock, but I was upset about Carol because I was in love with her!”

“Well, that’s gonna make our next confession awkward.” Chandler deadpans, and Joey grins at him, threading their fingers together like he’s been waiting to do for the past thirty minutes.

“Look how cute they are, Ross,” Rachel coos, and Ross smiles.

“Just so you know, I love and support you guys no matter what.”

Something inside Chandler explodes. “Thanks, Ross,” He murmurs, though the smile of his face says it all.

Ross grins back, patting him a couple of times on the knee, then turns to face the rest of the group. “Oh! So, you’ll never guess what happened at work today.” 

Monica shoves Joey and Chandler over so she can sit closer to her brother, eating up the story that, of course, involves some chef-dinosaur incident.

As the girls listened intently, Joey casually settles an arm over Chandler’s shoulders, drawing him closer so that he and his boyfriend (they’re public!) were in their personal bubble. Chandler turns to face him, still wrapped in Joey’s arm, giving him a million-dollar smile.

“Hey,” Chandler whispers, a goofy smile permanently attached to his face. “I love you.”

Joey grins, then leans down to give him a quick kiss. “I love you more.”

**Author's Note:**

> aww thank u sm for reading!! hope u enjoyed this as much as i did writing it shsjjss
> 
> if u want, follow my twitter @fjghtmilk where i regularly post ab all the bs going on in my life shsjsjsjsj


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